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Posts Tagged ‘censorship’

In the News (#1654)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 11, 2026| Leave a Comment »

This is worse than a game of whack-a-mole.  –  Judge Katherine Failla

Ashley Madison (#571)

Is this an Ashley Madison for gay men?

…Goose [is] a [new] dating and friendship app for gay men with the slogan “for the boys,” which allows users to “meet guys through the life you already have”…[but] the…[Instagram] accounts [promoting it] were [all] created in May [or June]…have fewer than 10 posts…a high following-to-follower ratio…and…[CGI] avatars…Created by…influencer Derek Chadwick…Goose positions itself as a Grindr alternative for gay men who want to build lasting relationships…[but it appears to be infested with bot] accounts…[which] frequently comment on each other’s photos, [us]ing the same [words] and…emojis…

Legislators Gone Wild (#1271) 

In which the fanatical, unhinged Guinasso, his pet fantasist, and Morality in Media, all demonstrate their total lack of ethics:

…Morality in Media…and [fanatical anti-sex lawyer Jason Guinasso]…apparently can’t make it through a filing without fabricating citations — and then doubling down when caught…[Morality in Media’s] lawyers…were supposed to review [Guinasso’s work] and then didn’t…when the[ir intended victims, Nevada’s Chicken Ranch brothel, point]ed out th[at their filings had been written by a chatbot and therefore contained the usual] hallucinated citations, [the] lawyers tried to attack the defendant and play down the hallucinations…in a filing with more hallucinated citations…Guinasso [tried to use his fucked-up personal life as an excuse for committing an offense for which he should be disbarred, but Morality in Media had]…six…attorneys o[f it own who]…were supposed to double-check his citations…So…the judge order[ed] the plaintiffs lawyers…and…Guinasso…to pay the defendant’s legal fees…

The Last Shall Be First (#1568)

Judges need to start presenting a united front against dictatorial abuses:

…a federal judge [has] granted patients’ request to block the [In]justice Department from seeking or obtaining invasive patient information about transgender minors…in New York City.  It was the first such ruling to block DOJ’s escalated effort to obtain the information through grand jury subpoenas as part of the Trump [regime]’s broader effort to “reduce or eliminate” such care altogether …Judge Katherine Failla [granted] the classwide temporary restraining order…because…the…DOJ’s request “shocks the conscience” by seeking the “most personal and sensitive information a medical provider could hold” without providing “any legitimate government interest“…the only reason the patients even knew the government was [surreptitiously] seeking this information…was due to NYU Langone’s view that New York law required it to inform patients…

Counterfeit Comfort (#1577)

If you’re a fan of “sex offender” registration, meet one of your bedfellows:

A [Texas] woman [was arrested and] charged…[for using] the internet to harass a [man condemned by the state to the “]sex offender[” registry] and his family…Darien Lombrana is…out on bond after being charged with harassment [by] post[ing] about the family “over and over” on social media sites and community pages…she posted their address online with the [specific] intent to…harm…[his] children…Lombrana’s actions have caused one family member to lose a job, another to get rejected from a college program, and another to get assaulted…

If Men Were Angels (#1592)

Religious communities very often punish the victims instead of the rapists:

The…[Old Apostolic Lutheran C]hurch…sets itself apart from the world and teaches that even the most [heinous crimes] can be…not just forgiven, but [memory-holed] and never spoken of again.  So…[when] a rural Wyoming…man…sexually abus[ed] young girls hundreds of times in the pews during Sunday services…the preacher…never reported it to police…[but] instead…told the man to seek therapy.  In Minnesota, a man…[regularly molested] his daughter and son at night [starting] around [age]…12.  He and his siblings…were sexually abused themselves, and then he repeated the abuse with his own children.  And in Washington state, preachers [let] a member of their congregation…sexually abuse…young boys [for years]…the OALC…teaches its followers that heaven is reserved just for them…[and shifts] the burden of sin…from the person who committed the act to the person who refuses to let the matter rest…one of the biggest obstacles to breaking the cycle is the way church members move among congregations spread across the U.S. and Canada, often hundreds of miles apart but tightly bound by large, multigenerational family networks…elders from…the…mother congregation in Sweden…[vomit the cop excuse “]isolated incidents[” at victims]…

Mad Libs (#1644)

Schadenfreude is even sweeter when the bad outcome was 100% predictable:

Companies across tech, entertainment, banking, and many other industries are throttling their employees’ [chatbot] use…and pleading with workers to [think for themselves very slightly more] to stop [chatbot] costs from spiraling out of control…The news shows the looming fallout from companies [forcing employees to train chatbots in hope of eventually eliminating their positions], and [chatbot push]ers’ moves to [use-based] charge[s]…rather than a flat fee…Citi, for example, has shut off access to Claude’s and ChatGPT’s latest models entirely…[and] is…monitoring daily Copilot usage…“Crazy, we go from no more leaderboard to actual usage limits in two weeks,” one Amazon employee said…

The Cop Myth (#1644)

When it’s unauthorized by boss hogs, ramming another vehicle is described honestly instead of euphemized as “a PIT maneuver”:

A Hermitage [Pennsylvania cop] is [actually] facing…charges [because] he intentionally rammed a[nother] vehicle, injuring multiple people inside…Derek Jeziorkowski…[started] chasing a vehicle…[because he claimed one of the passengers was mean to] his son at…Walmart…the victims turned around to try to escape [so] Jeziorkowski [made an illegal U-turn] and continued to [chase] them…Jeziorkowski [then]…pulled in front of the victim[s’] vehicle…[and] rammed…[it], causing it to run off the road…[hit] a…[guy] wire [and] a tree[, then] flip…over onto its roof…[as the] four victims [(one adult and three teens) lay injured, the deranged]…Jeziorkowski went up to the[m] and [started screaming], “This is what happens when you fuck around with my kid,” [bizarrely adding] “You would do the same thing if it was your kid” [despite having just assaulted three kids in a shockingly-violent manner]…Jeziorkowski has been [rewarded with a paid vacation, and the cop shop is hiding his picture]…

 

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

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In the News (#1652)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Philosophy, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 5, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Meta spent tens of billions of dollars on building the future of the internet, and all it has to show for it is a handful of bored children in the parking lot of an offbrand drive-thru restaurant.  –  James Ball

Without Let or Hindrance (#1459)

When the victim isn’t a nationally-known politician, this usually takes closer to 24 months to resolve than 24 hours:

[Democratic politician] Pete Buttigieg…and his [4-year-old] children were the [targets] of an [“]investigation[“] by Child Protective Services [because of a malicious] anonymous report…both children [were subjected to terrifying] forensic interviews where no family could be present.  Because he…[is a celebrity the ordeal was over in] twenty-four hours…”It’s not lost on me that this happened soon after we shared photos of our family on social media for Father’s Day,” Buttigieg said in his statement…

Shame, Shame (#1607)

An excellent essay on the failure of Zuckerberg’s “metaverse” fantasy:

Mark Zuckerberg was so convinced the metaverse was the next big thing that he renamed his company after it…investing more than $80bn…enough to…cover the UN’s humanitarian fundraising target for 2026—designed to support 87m desperate people worldwide—twice over…History…is littered with…major companies that bet on virtual reality…only to suffer extensive public humiliation and financial loss.  In 1995, at the peak of its powers, Nintendo launched the Virtual Boy, a [hyperbolically-marketed] 3D system…[which] was discontinued…within six months of its launch…CEOs and venture capitalists told us the future was the metaverse, which would definitely involve NFTs, the blockchain, virtual land and more…Almost overnight, all of them are now pronouncing with equal confidence that the future is, in fact, in artificial intelligence—and the story sounds familiar…But we weren’t consulted on the metaverse, either, and as it turned out that mattered a great deal more to the companies than to us.  There are limits to how far big tech moguls can impose their vision of the future…

Shame, Shame (#1609)

There is only one way to stop this: aggressive prosecution of Elon Musk:

[Elon Musk] has long promoted [MechaHitler] as a [more vulgar] kind of chatbot…the [reason he] has leaned so hard into that strategy despite [lawsuits, criminal charges and] PR disasters…[is] that NSFW activities account for “well over half” of [MechaHitler]’s traffic …That includes using [MechaHitler] to generate actual porn, as well as “adult role-play chats” and “huge volumes of requests for erotica.”  [MechaHitler] users have even apparently discovered that it’s cheaper to channel such requests through the company’s models intended for writing code…Some employees [are] less than thrilled with being assigned to work on “Ani,” [which is basically MechaHitler in drag].  Others [are]…”embarrassed and disturbed” by [MechaHitler creating]…sexualized images of…children…[unfortunately, the Trump regime doesn’t care and keeps shoveling billions into Musk’s money bin]…

Walled Garden (#1632)

The harder Australia tries to “crack down”, the more foolish it will look:

Australia’s prime minister vowed…to [magically] bullet-proof laws [enforc]ing a social ​media ban for under-16s as the government prepares legal action against platforms [for being unable to do the impossible]…The country’s [asinine] six-month-old experiment is being closely watched by many [wannabe censors] seeking to emulate it [as an excuse for mass surveillance of the internet].  Britain this month said it planned [to pratfall even hard]er [by futilely applying the attempt to] gaming and live-streaming platforms…also…85% of Australians aged 12 to 15 were still using social media three months after the ban took effect, according to a study of 408 adolescents…[but nitwits claim this is] a teething period…and teenagers [will surely start obeying] the [authoritarian] rules [any day now]…

Mad Libs (#1636)

Ford was shocked to discover that autocomplete can’t autocomplete cars:

Ford ha[d]…to rehir[e] hundreds of human workers after it…fired…[them under the idiotic delusion that chatbots could do their jobs.  It re]hired over 350 veteran engineers…over the past three years in order to [correct] mistakes made by automated systems…[which] cost the company billions of dollars…Ford had been increasingly relying on [computerized] inspection systems…[only to discover] that [computer programs can’t think]…After rehiring [actual] engineers, Ford experienced a marked improvement in its quality standards…[surprising no one who isn’t a complete fool.  Yet]…it [still refuses to] abandon its [attempts to replace humans]…

Mad Libs (#1649)

Medical privacy is going the way of the dodo:

…[Hospitals are attempting to] use…[chatbots] to detect or predict the risk of [domestic violence] in clinical notes, imaging reports, and other types of…data…The rationale is [supposed]ly well-intentioned…[because] only about 7% of [victims are willing to talk about it with strangers]…in clinical settings…However, [adults have the right]…to disclose [or not disclose private details of their lives] on their own terms…at a time and place that is right for them…[an algorithm] that detects [the “]risk[” of domestic violence violates that right.  Furthermore]…patients are not told that they are being screened, and there is no option…that allows [them] to opt out.  Only patients who are [informed of the snooping]…will know…[that their complex lives have been reduced and flattened into a “]score[” which becomes a permanent part of]…their medical record…[algorithm pushers pretend] the score is…only…available to the care team[, but that ship sailed long ago]…

Censorship Ascendant (#1651)

Goons are now being dispatched to intimidate people for wrongthink:

After two [of Trump’s goons] tracked down a Syracuse woman…to [threaten] her [because she was mean to their gang on] social media…they went to Rochester to [threaten] David Streever…[who] was with his seven-year-old daughter at Moominworld in Finland…[because he wasn’t there, the goons threatened] Streever’s wife [instead, because he had dared to criticize their former boss]…Todd Lyons [in January.  But after]…Streever and daughter Helen flew back to New York…[on June 25th, the goons tracked him] to [his] hotel, where they [would have barged in on him at 10 PM had]…the hotel staff…not [had the good sense to refuse to answer any questions about them]…Streever [later read] about [the same goons]…similar[ly threate]ning…Paigelynne Gonyea…[recognizing them from images captured by his doorbell camera.  He has contacted] his credit card company to start an investigation of how the [goons discovered which hotel he would be in and when]…

 

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

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The World of Throwback Thursday

Posted in Biography, History, Miscellaneous, Music, Perception, Philosophy, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 2, 2026| Leave a Comment »

I liked Pride so much better when it was one day celebrated by grass-roots organizations than a whole month ballyhooed by major corporations with rainbow-hued consumer goods, and with hypocritical expressions of solidarity from politicians and cops.
–  “June is Tweeting Out All Over”

One…aspect of my neuroatypicality…[is] that…[I] spend [a lot of] time composing and performing a kind of music only I can hear.
–  “The Music in the Numbers”

Unfortunately, societies’ tendency to self-lobotomize into stagnation and decay is something that will almost certainly never be solved.
–  “The Eternal Frontier”

The only moral form of warfare is War of Assassins, in which the only combatants and the only legitimate targets are the rulers, their henchmen, and their agents.  –  “War of Assassins“

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In the News (#1651)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Philosophy, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 1, 2026| Leave a Comment »

If there are no punishments for violating someone’s rights, they’re not really rights at all.  –  Hemant Mehta

Size Matters

The only religion which it’s actually free to practice in the US is Christianity:

The Supreme Court has made it official: Religious freedom only applies if you’re a conservative Christian…[by] rul[ing] 6-3…that a Rastafarian man whose hair was cut off against his will—violating his religious beliefs—had no legal remedies available to him…Damon Landor…hadn’t cut his hair in decades because he follows the Nazarite vow—which includes a reference to Numbers 6:5: “… No razor may be used on their head… they must let their hair grow long.”  He continued that vow even after entering two Louisiana jails in 2020, for a five-month sentence…[but] when he was transferred to a third [dungeon]…Landor worried they might try to cut his hair to fit in with [victim subjugation] policies, so he showed [screws] paperwork [of]…The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000…[which] says prisons that receive federal funding can’t violate someone’s religious beliefs unless there’s a really good reason for it…They threw his paperwork in the trash, handcuffed him to a chair, and shaved off his hair.  He later sued…both the prison and the individual [screw]s for violating his rights…[but] writing for the majority, Justice Neil Gorsuch said [because the screws didn’t want to follow the law]…they couldn’t be held accountable…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1301) 

This is only the beginning:

Madison Square Garden compiled a list of activists who have publicly criticized [its] use of facial recognition…in…a document…accessible to [anyon]e in…the company…MSG[‘s owner] Jim Dolan[, who also owns Radio City Music Hall]…has…a reputation for being pernicious against his perceived enemies, [and] is…keeping track of specific people who take issue with [his creepy surveillance]…The…list…[includes] three people who have criticized MSG’s use of facial recognition: Evan Greer…of…Fight for the Future; Albert Fox Cahn…of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project…and…[Adam] Schwartz…of [EFF, and]…includes background information…social media handles and…screenshots of [criticism]…“The fact that MSG is creating dossiers on activists who say things they don’t like shows exactly why private companies should not be allowed to use dangerous surveillance technologies like facial recognition,” [said] Greer…“Given their recent treatment of a trans woman trying to use the bathroom…I’m also not surprised they misgendered me”…

Censorship Ascendant (#1529)

Goons are now being dispatched to intimidate people for wrongthink:

Two…[ICE goons threaten]ed…a Syracuse [New York] woman…[in an attempt] to [censor her] social media account[, claiming she was mean to them]…PaigeLynne Gonyea said she believes they [we]re referring to a January post where she named the [goon] who [murdered] protester Renee Good.  Gonyea was working as a poll worker…at the Central Library…when [the goons showed up].  She…invited them in[side because]…she did not want to meet them outside alone…The [goons] handed [her] a form letter [full of Trumpist] threats…[of] prosecution…“They tried to scare me into signing it”…she said…she does not intend to delete her post…[but instead contacted] the attorney general’s office…[her US representative, the] Mayor [of Syracuse] and the New York Civil Liberties Union…

Only Rights Can Stop the Wrongs (#1532)

Never forget that this started with censorship of internet porn:

Anastasia Ovsyannikova…has been detained [in Russia for being] on [OnlyFans]…She gained fame through her collaborations with Diana Shurygina, wh[o]…was [also] arrested in Moscow earlier this month [when cops staged a theatrical raid] on her apartment and [stole] cameras and [other] filming equipment…the…p[er]secution is part of a growing wave of cases targeting women over online adult content.  In a separate case, a woman named Anastasia F. was detained in Yekaterinburg on similar charges [for] posting explicit content on OnlyFans…The Kremlin has for several years sought to position the country as more [puritanical]…But this stance hardened a[s part of its propaganda campaign to draw attention away from its disastrous] invasion of Ukraine in February 2022…

Walled Garden (#1595)

Western nations are competing to out-China China:

[Politicians have]…unveil[ed] a [uniparty collaboration] on [the massive internet surveillance and censorship bill named]…KOSA…[which] now…includes age verification for [any website that any politician points at while belching “]sexually explicit[“, plus provisians allowing the government to control the design of] video game[s] and…social media…platforms…[plus threats to attack]…platforms [which refuse] to silence users [enough for politicians’ tastes]…

The Vultures Descend (#1645)

This was always the endgame, regardless of claims to the contrary:

In its quest to outlaw abortion across the country, the [forced birth] movement has [long courted the wishy-washy by claiming they want]…women who get the procedure…spared punishment, while doctors and others who make it available should be p[ersecuted]…But a growing number of [forced-birth fanatics] are starting to [drop the mask,] argu[ing] that the only way to stop women from ending their pregnancies [is] to arrest them.  The [unmasking] is coming as [forced-birth fanatics] express frustration that the number of abortions happening now is higher than [before] Roe v. Wade was overturned, largely because [women don’t want fanatical strangers controlling their bodies]…

Mad Libs (#1649)

Reason needs to be far more skeptical of the outlandish claims of chatbot pushers:

…Utah has passed several laws and initiatives to [funnel]…healthcare [money into the hands of chatbot purveyors], including a[n ill-considered scheme] launched earlier this year to allow…chatbots to fill prescriptions…[via a fascist collaboration named] Doctronic…[so far] the project [only allows algorithmic refills of ongoing]…prescriptions and medication for asthma, diabetes, and other c[hronic] health conditions. Patients still need to visit a[n actual] doctor for new prescriptions…but…[as AMA executive John Whyte points out] “It’s really a concern about a slippery slope. Do we start here with prescriptions, then all of a sudden, is it going to lead to diagnostic tests?”…Doctronic [claims] its platform is guided by the opinions of board-certified physicians[, but the exact same statement is made by insurance companies about the medical washouts whom they employ to deny claims]…

 

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

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In the News (#1650)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 27, 2026| Leave a Comment »

The state does not have a free-floating power to restrict…ideas.
–  Judge Kevin G. Ritz

The Cop Myth (#1541)

How long will America ignore the costs of its sick worship of police violence?

…In the decade to 2024, the number of Americans killed by police jumped [from] about [one in twelve violent deaths in the decade ending in 2018 to] one in ten [now]…the problem [is getting closer to that of Brazil, the world’s] wors[t, where 25% of all violent deaths are at the hands of police]…barely a dozen [cops] each year [in the entire US] are charged with a crime after [murdering] a civilian…

Vulture Watching (#1608)

Another look at the totally-predictable results of bad laws:

A new study…shows total abortion bans in nine states [Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia] are forcing doctors across multiple specialties to delay or withhold standard pregnancy care…doctors are delaying treatment for conditions like early pregnancy loss, ectopic pregnancy and…serious maternal illness because of legal uncertainty—not clinical judgment…The…delays…“endanger patients” and “undermine patient autonomy and physician-patient trust”…Pregnant women in states with total abortion bans are nearly twice as likely to die during pregnancy, childbirth or postpartum period…and pregnant Black patients face more than three times the mortality risk compared to their white counterparts…the average economic cost of abortion restrictions will be $140 billion this year…

To Molest and Rape (#1621)

Cops should not be allowed anywhere near legal minors:

A [typical and representative California screw named Richard Phillip Bardouski was] convicted…of molesting three [young] relatives…more than a decade ago…[as usual, the] District Attorney [used the occasion to bloviate about how this typical behavior was somehow shocking]…Two of the victims came forward in 2023 and reported they were molested between the ages of 4 and 9…[and] the third victim…was assaulted in 2010 around the age of 14.  Bardouski was living in Montgomery, Alabama…and [was] extradited to California…

Mad Libs (#1631)

Every study shows that chatbot usage harms brain function:

As more professionals begin to rely on [chatbots] in their work…their hard-earned skills atrophy…[chatbot]-driven “deskilling” is [already] happen[ing] in medicine, computer science and other fields…A study of physicians…who specialize in endoscopy…[last year demonstrated] how quickly [computerized] tools can erode human abilities…[and now] researchers at…Anthropic…designed a randomized controlled trial in which 52 software engineers were asked to perform a basic coding task…half…were prompted to use a…[chatbot and] all…were asked to complete a quiz about what they had learnt from the task.  Th[os]e…who had [let a chatbot do the work] did significantly worse on the quiz than those who hadn’t: the average score was 50% in the [chatbot] group versus 67% in the [actually-doing-the-work-themselves] group…Tapani Rinta-Kahila [of] the University of Queensland…[compares this to the way] GPS navigation systems have eroded people’s navigation skills…To prevent [chatbot]-driven skill erosion, people need to [stop using fucking chatbots, as any fucking idiot could have predicted]…

Stalkers in Blue (#1635)

The actual story here is that a few cops are actually being prosecuted:

…Local news reports from around the country repeatedly detail police abusing the Flock surveillance system…to stalk their partners…ex-partners[, or intended victims they don’t even know]…The cases highlight the fact that Flock can be used to track the whereabouts of individual people, that police do not get a warrant in order to use the system, and that, if they have access to the system, they [will routinely abuse it]…for any reason they want…The known cases of police stalking are [without a single shred of doubt] a vast underreporting of the overall abuse, because they largely include only cases in which the behavior was so egregious that it led to [cops] being fired, arrested, or both…a Flock [mouthpiece ludicrously claimed that it’s not their fault their fascist warrantless surveillance system is used for warrantless surveillance, because]…private citizens, journalists, and stalking victims…have [been able to later discover the abuse by]…public records [requests or via the third-party]…website HaveIBeenFlocked.com…[which] Flock has repeatedly tried to get…taken down…

Welcome to the Future (#1637)

In the 20th century, this was called a “price-fixing cartel”:

A new federal lawsuit [has been filed against] gas station companies across California [who] are engaged in an illegal conspiracy…to raise prices.  The…lawsuit [includes] the corporate owners of over 1,700 California gas stations — including Marathon…7-Eleven, Walmart, and Circle K — [who] are using Kalibrate, an [algorithm designed]…to extinguish retail price competition…[by] coordinat[ing] high prices…gas stations that use Kalibrate software charge between 6 cents and 30 cents more per gallon…gas stations traditionally “competed for customers by aggressively undercutting one another’s retail prices”…[but] Kalibrate encourages gas station owners to abandon this system and allow [its] software to automatically determine prices…[by] connect[ing] directly to gas station signs and pumps…Kalibrate’s interface…[includes] a feature that allows gas stations to coordinate a “restoration,” [a euphemism for]…an area[-wide joint] price…[hike which any Kalibrate user can] initiate…to…“squeeze out profits” [from marks]…in [defiance of]…a…California…law…[which] “was [specifically] enacted to make clear that companies cannot evade liability for fixing prices by delegating their illegal trusts to an algorithm”…The new law was passed in response to companies like RealPage, which uses an…algorithm to [hike] rents in apartment buildings…cost[ing] renters $3.8 billion in 2023…

Walled Garden (#1644)

Court declares that minors are chattel, so adults have no privacy rights:

A federal appeals court has signed off on Ohio’s ban on people under age 16 using social media without parental consent…[which] means all Ohioans could soon have to show ID to use such platforms…Similar laws have been either temporarily or permanently blocked by federal courts in other states, such as Arkansas, Louisiana, and Utah.  That makes the 6th Circuit’s decision something of an aberration—and a worrying sign…[considering that] the 6th Circuit judges think [having people’s identities permanently linked in government records to social media accounts] constitute[s] only “a marginal burden”…

 

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

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Blue Skies Above

Posted in Biography, History, Miscellaneous, Perception, Philosophy, Tyranny, Words, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 19, 2026| Leave a Comment »

They'll need to figure out how to send a letter back in time to threaten Warner Brothers as well.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-05-14T18:02:09.514Z

This is called "the martial arts".

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-05-17T04:09:51.125Z

I reckon this must be a tataille, because it sure ain't a lougarou.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-05-17T17:54:41.692Z

"When somebody offers you a seat on the rocket ship, just get on" http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/5…

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-05-18T03:50:10.197Z

Reporters, please stop saying "pod" to mean "cell block". Imprisoned people are neither whales nor alien body snatchers; they don't come from "pods". Just because the monsters in the US carceral system use euphemisms to hide their evil, doesn't mean you need to parrot them.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-05-19T16:59:03.072Z

If you think THAT'S something, just wait until you see Ram Man.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-05-21T04:12:32.430Z

People are doing "10 bands you've seen live" on Twitter & it keeps reminding me of Grace, who was a studio musician for years. Once we were at a party where this girl was bragging about getting backstage passes & Grace said to me, "I've *blown* more big name rock stars than she's seen in concert."

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-05-21T16:52:25.724Z

"Once men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them." – Frank Herbert, "Dune"

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-05-22T17:29:39.662Z

It boggled my mind that a restaurant would be named after a dessert. It still does. I mean, nobody goes to "Flan Bell" or "Hand Pie King" or "Spumone Hut".

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-05-23T18:42:01.117Z

No D&D player should be surprised when a high-level cleric quotes a high-level wizard.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-05-25T17:06:01.707Z

Crypto-moralists never let little things like facts get in the way of barfing the word "unhealthy" in people's faces every time they do anything more exciting than eating raw vegetables & water once a day after their toil & drudgery, then going to sleep on the floor in an un-climate-controlled room.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-05-26T16:52:56.642Z

"Are we just going to give up and breathe?""Are we just going to give up and eat?""Are we just going to give up and be affected by gravity?""Are we just going to give up and have mass?""Are we just going to give up and emit heat?"This is what you sound like to sane people.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-05-27T17:35:31.457Z

You'd think that after all these decades as an adult, I'd have grown jaded enough to feel something milder than utter contempt for nitwits who believe the entire world of human political thought can be reduced to a single one-dimensional axis. But in actuality, my contempt merely grows more bitter.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-05-29T17:23:12.409Z

If you're a scientist on social media who wants to be accepted as an authority in your field, it's probably a bad idea to claim that a cause can be responsible for "more than 100%" of an observed effect.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-05-30T17:01:30.319Z

"Trump is acting like an authoritarian" = "Einstein is acting like a scientist" = "Streisand is acting like a diva" = "Spielberg is acting like a director" = "Kermit is acting like a Muppet" = "Lassie is acting like a dog" = "Yersinia pestis is acting like a disease organism".

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-05-31T17:08:54.673Z

Hey fellow old folks, remember the late '80s, when food companies were trying to cram oat bran into everything because "nutritionists" told the hoi-polloi it had magical life-extension powers?Some things never change.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-01T17:10:49.087Z

Sooner or later, sensible people will need to just tell anti-immigration bigots to go to hell. archive.is/ZwLwc

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-02T17:26:11.101Z

Also, electricity and the microcomputer actually did most of what they were claimed to be able to do.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-04T03:33:10.119Z

Imagine having enough money to do basically anything which doesn't actually violate physical laws, and instead choosing to live your life like this.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-04T17:58:36.047Z

The heckler's veto as US government policy.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-05T17:57:26.404Z

Nobody who ever watched a single episode of any '60s spy show involving double agents should be surprised at this.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-07T17:51:58.453Z

You know how "I had sex with your dad" has become a way for sex workers to mock squares? Well, I had sex with a lot of people's grandpas. A lot of great-grandpas too.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-09T17:31:16.476Z

Fucking a lot of people of both sexes, reading omnivorously, writing A+ essays, running a D&D campaign, hanging out with my friends and predicting the eventual disasters that would result from bad US politics?Yep, checks out.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-10T17:31:49.443Z

I know it's difficult for males stuck at 12, but not everything is a pissing contest.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-11T17:21:28.738Z

Can we please stop saying [name of Trumpified institution] to mean "Trump"? Don't tell me "The Pentagon" or "The Department of Justice" or "The Kennedy Center" did something; the management of those places are just sock puppets speaking in Trump's voice, like an evil Neighborhood of Make-Believe.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-12T17:30:43.841Z

"Mythos".They are taunting y'all, and few are literate enough to recognize it.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-13T17:38:37.133Z

Doctor Dolittle books. As players rise in levels, they learn more animal languages and gain more animal helpers. Experience is earned by traveling around the world, making friends with animals & with people of different races; by finding unique beings; and by visiting fantastic places like the Moon.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-15T03:51:15.730Z

If it looks like a circle jerk, sounds like a circle jerk, smells like a circle jerk, and jerks around like a circle jerk, it's probably a circle jerk.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-17T04:07:56.859Z

One of the most important causes of the Great Depression was the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-17T18:05:59.672Z

People who accept domination by "leaders" cannot be free.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-18T18:42:45.618Z

 

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In the News (#1646)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 13, 2026| Leave a Comment »

No-one in a democracy should need to show their passport just to get online.  –  Silkie Carlo

Policing for Profit

There are many ways for cops to enrich themselves at others’ expense:

A [New Jersey cop named Darryl Brown] stole more than $10,000 in camera equipment from a photographer who had to abandon her bag after she was injured during [a pogrom] outside a…[concentration camp] in Newark [named] Delaney Hall…which has been the focus of ongoing protests since Memorial Day weekend…after [political prisoner]s inside announced a hunger and labor strike…Angelina Katsanis was [hit so hard] by a [cop she] could barely walk…as state troopers [attack]ed…the…protesters [with pepper spray and blunt weapons] late [on the] night [of May 30th]…She…tucked her bag aside so she could seek medical help…[it] was clearly labeled with her name, and her keys were airtagged.  After a friend unsuccessfully tried to retrieve the bag later that night, they were able to monitor the airtag [be]ing [carried by] Darryl Brown [to his house, where operatives of the attorney general’s office of public integrity]…found some of [it on June 3rd after gaining entry via a search warrant]…

Banishment (#1163)

One more baby step toward ridding our society of this evil:

South Carolina is one of 20 states that authorize indefinite [warehousing] of [people] after they have completed their prison sentences…[if] a jury [declares them]…a “sexually violent predator”…Although the South Carolina Office of Mental Health…concluded that Andy Hyman was not an SVP, a jury d[eclared otherwise because a prosecutor tricked them with an “expert”]…opinion based largely on penile plethysmography (PPG), a scientifically dubious technique that [cl]aims to measure sexual response to images, audio narratives, or textual descriptions by gauging tiny changes in the circumference of the subject’s penis.  That test, the South Carolina Supreme Court [has now] unanimously ruled…in response to Hyman’s appeal, is “generally inadmissible in judicial proceedings”…join[ing] a long list of state and federal courts that have deemed PPG results unreliable and inadmissible…

The Last Shall Be First (#1523)

Burble burble BLUE STATE burble drool:

Student athletes in Washington state schools who want to compete in girls’ sports would likely have to obtain genital exams to participate, if a[n authoritarian] ballot initiative passes in November…students would have several options to confirm their sex: a visual genital exam, a lab test to determine their genetic makeup, or an analysis of testosterone levels in the blood…[high-profile bigot] Brian Heywood and his political action committee Let’s Go Washington are backing the measure…[which they defend by barfing the word “]safety[“] in girls’ [faces]…the measure would be a major shift in the way the state has…handled school sports participation for transgender kids…since 2007…[there are only about] 10 trans athletes out of more than 200,000 kids [in academic sports] across the state…

In the authoritarian mind,  for students to voluntarily allow other people to examine their genitalia for the purpose of pleasure is a “crime”, but for the same students to be forced by law to allow strangers to examine their genitalia for the purpose of bigotry is “protection”.

Panopticon (#1611)

Cops will invariably use warrantless surveillance to frame people:

…[Ariel Beltran and] Hugo Parra [were falsely] arrested last year on felony [assault] charges…[because] San Diego police…de[cided]…the Alfa Romeo car [they were] riding in…[could teleport] five miles away from…the crime [instantly]…a…[Flock] license plate reader…captured…an…[image of] a different Alfa Romeo [whose license plate cops could not read, so they simply]…arrested Beltran and Parra [for riding in a similar car in a different part of town, also captured by the reader 23 seconds later]…Parra spent nearly one month behind bars…before the…charges were dropped…Now Parra and Beltran are preparing to sue the city for civil rights violations and negligence…several other Flock cameras…[and] the location data on their cell phones [showed they were nowhere near the crime scene, but the cops]…ignored [inconvenient] evidence [to frame the men, who now]…seek $1.5 million apiece in damages…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1630)

Zuckerberg sneakily added this dystopian software, hoping civil liberties groups wouldn’t notice:

[Facebook] has quietly embedded face-recognition technology for its [perve]rt glasses into an app downloaded to millions of phones…over multiple updates this year…while publicly…[lying that it w]as something the company was still “thinking through”…Though not yet enabled, NameTag sits inside a…companion app that’s…necessary for use of key features of its [perve]rt glasses…[when] activated, it will transform faces captured by [the pervert] glasses into unique biometric signatures…and check each one against faceprints stored on the user’s phone—a database that…[could easily be re]configured to…revive…technology [Facebook lied about retiring] in 2021, when the company…paid $650 million to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by Illinois users and, in 2024, agreed to a separate $1.4 billion settlement with Texas over…[illega]lly collect[ing] biometric data…

Torture Chamber (#1638)

Nuremberg-style trials are the moderate solution to these atrocities:

[Victims of] Florida’s notorious [Dade-Collier concentration camp reported that screws are]…denying them food and fresh water…[in an attempt to coerce them into] sign[ing] documents presented to them in English that they [can]not understand…the water given to them…[is] “rotten” and contain[s] mosquito larvae…They…[are also denying] medicine to…diabetic[s], [people] with high blood pressure…and others [who need daily medication.  The concentration camp is so expensive to]…operate…[it is scheduled to] wind down operations in [the next few weeks in preparation for] its eventual closure…[after only] one year of operation, the t[orture] facility…has developed a reputation for the brutal treatment of [human beings crammed into]…metal cages, and…su[bjected to nigh-constant] human and civil rights abuses…[including] denial of access to immigration lawyers, frequent and sudden movement of [victims] to other [concentra]tion [camp]s, and pressure to consent…to deportation…[the new tortures] appear…to be a ramping up of that pressure…

Walled Garden (#1642)

Fascists will never be satisfied until they control all people see, say, and do:

The UK government [is demanding tech companies install Utah-style software] to block access to…images [badly-flawed algorithms identify as “nude”, a la Facebook,] on smartphones and other devices for [all residents of the UK unless they submit to having those devices permanently linked to their identities in government databases].  Sir Keir Starmer has [issued incoherent threats] to…firms [while barfing “]children[” and “]sexually explicit[” at sensible people]…and…[bloviating about what he] “believe[s]”.  The government [issued a]…three month…[ultimatum and threatened corporations not resident in the UK with] criminal [charges, even demanding that corporations force the censorship & surveillance software into]…existing…phones [without the owners’ consent]…The [new threats are a tacit admission that the much-ballyhooed]…Online Safety Act – [which took over 12 years to enact] – i[s as utter a failure as sensible people predicted eight years ago]…However, [authoritarian lunatics] have [demand]ed the government…[completely control everything young adults] see…online[, moronically belching “]sextortion[” as though it were a sensible term used by reasonable adults].  The [scheme includes a proposed ban]…on…social media [for all Britons who refuse to submit to a surveillance regime]…

 

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

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Black Throwback Thursday

Posted in Biography, Miscellaneous, Philosophy, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on June 11, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Why must I always be put in a position where yelling at some poor working stiff who absolutely isn’t being paid enough to deal with me is the only way to actually get my problem solved?
–  “Customer Disservice”

I figured out at a fairly young age that when anyone demanded obedience, belief, or trust because they had an Important Title or were simply bigger than me, rather than for some reason they could logically explain, that it was usually because they had no sound reason, and therefore were not to be trusted, believed, or obeyed.
–  “Getting Away from the Grownups”

God-king wannabes…[a]re not only trying to eliminate thoughts they don’t like, but also to cram young heads so full of nonsense that there is no room for actual learning…when their victims mature enough to escape their direct control.  –  “Censorship by Commission”

One simple definition of a “friend” could be, “Someone who is there for you when you need them.”  –  “Diary #780“

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In the News (#1644)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 6, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Students have just as much a right to access information as adults.  –  Cameron Samuels

Business As Usual (ROTW #16)

Prohibition invariably leads to corruption:

…in November 2023…a joint state and local raid on two northern Indiana massage parlors—Jade Massage…and Relax Spa…inv[olved]…four penis massages for a…[disguised pig before the gang] raided the businesses and s[tole] more than $97,000 in cash, along with a car.  Spa owners Guan Yu and Wujiao Liu, a married couple, were [brutalized and thrown in cages]…and their cash is missing…State police are now investigating…[after town marshal] Robert Byrd…tracked some of the [loot] down to a rented storage locker…but…$33,540.51 was missing…

Though cops are given free rein to sexually assault sex workers in every US state, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Florida are especially notorious and actually defend such assaults as “evidence gathering”.

Pyrrhic Victory (#1553)

Erosion of civil liberties only starts with “undesirables”; it never stops there:

The Department of [Father]land Security is expanding its capacity to scan irises as part of its mass deportation [pogroms and to add to DFS’ immense] biometric data[base]…a $25 million no-bid contract [awarded] to BI2 Technologies…is more than five times the amount of the company’s last [DFS] contract, awarded last fall…the co[ntract includ]ed more than 1,500 iris scanners, as well as access to the company’s mobile app, including a[n iris scan] database…

Walled Garden (#1595)

The Constitution is quickly becoming a dead letter:

Texas’ law requiring app marketplace operators like Google and Apple to verify all users’ ages and seek parental permission before minors can download apps or make in-app purchases can go into effect for now…the [deeply-authoritarian] 5th…Circuit [has unsurprisingly ruled]…block[ing] a temporary injunction issued by a federal district judge…in December [because] the…law [patent]ly violate[s] the First Amendment…[the law’s sponsors barfed “]protect children[” in the faces of those who support]…free speech rights.  Louisiana and Utah have passed similar laws that have not yet gone into effect…

Mad Libs (#1614)

Amazon is angry that the biggest cheaters won its biggest cheater contest:

Amazon has shut down an internal company…board which ranked employees based on how much they used [chatbot]s at work…because it was easily cheated and…encouraged wasteful and expensive [chatbot] use…some tech company executives [labor under the delusion] that if employees are [actually doing their]…work [instead of training chatbots to replace them] they are not being productive enough…with some [actually] bragging about how they are spending more money on [chatbots]…than actual human employees.  This has resulted in a situation where some employees are running scripts that make it seem like they are using [chatbot]s a lot to game metrics and appease their bosses, but the [chatbots]…are [merely] burning money and resources with no benefit to productivity…

To Molest and Rape (#1628)

Hey, female cops; how’s that collaboration with the police state working out?

An NYPD [pig] pointed a loaded gun in a female subordinate’s face [in the cop shop] in March after subjecting her to incessant sexual harassment [since October 2024], often joined by a supervisor…[deranged pig] Quilbvio Espinal [is being sued by Megan Kwan]…[after he was] arrest[ed on March 26th, then rewarded with a paid vacation]…Espinal was…apparently embarrassed ..whe[n] Kwan…[dared to make a suggestion, which boss hogs characterized as]…provok[ing] him, as if…his [out-of-control behavior] were [somehow her] fault…for some 18 months before…he [threatened to murder her], Espinal and [another pig named] Jayson Valentin…had made her life a living hell…[by] “incessantly” making sexualized comments about Kwan being Asian that “became increasingly explicit” and continued on a near-daily basis throughout 2025 and until his arrest this year…he…also sent [crude texts and] racist and pornographic video content to Kwan…Valentin openly laughed at and participated in Espinal’s abuse…[and] sent her a [dick] pic…on [Snapchat]…

When Ambulance-Chasers Run the Hospitals (#1630)

Uthmeier’s hoping to get a cut of the “AI” gravy train before it collapses:

Florida is [su]ing OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman [to] profit [from traged]y, in the first [of many ambulance-chasing] lawsuit[s] brought by…state [attorneys general] against the ChatGPT maker over the [dangers posed by simpletons and mentally-ill people using] the chatbot.  The lawsuit…[is full of the usual grandiose and bombastic claims politicians cram into lawsuits intended to pillage politically-unpopular companies, such as Backpage, Target, and tobacco companies, but Uthmeier]…is also seeking to hold Altman personally liable….”for potentially up to billions of dollars” in [loot for Florida politicians]…

The Cop Myth (#1641)

Why are people shocked when those paid & encouraged to behave violently, behave violently?

A North Carolina [cop] has been fired after…doorbell camera video showing] him repeatedly punching a [90-pound] woman during an arrest [went viral]…The [cop shop at first rewarded him with a paid vacation until protests started, and the boss hog at first tried to justify the brutal attack by barfing]…”suspicious female” [at protesters.  The gang is still hiding his identity]…

 

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

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Whores’ Day 2026

Posted in Holidays, Perception, Philosophy, Words, tagged , , , , , , on June 2, 2026| 1 Comment »

Today is International Whores’ Day.  It is not “Sex Worker Day”; that is March 3rd.  Today is a day to shamelessly celebrate our shameless history, not a day for sanitized words or concepts; it is a day to fight society’s attempts (via law and police violence) to sanitize the wilder, unrulier, more chthonic aspects of sex.  This is a day for sexual outlaws, not well-behaved “workers”; it is a day to celebrate the triumphs of criminalized human beings against a society that would rather we didn’t exist.  It is a day to oppose censorship, not to engage in self-censorship; a day to honor a means of survival that predates laws and governments by eons; and a day to celebrate a power which will always defeat even the most pernicious attempts to domesticate it.

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